NOTE: This is a NEW change for 2018. Themed Death Pool Lists will be posted and tracked in a separate thread. If you are looking for the 2018 Celebrity Death Pool thread, click here

phungi (aka: the Death Shroom) checking in as your 2018 Death Pool chaperone. While I may only be a place-holder for Baker (aka: the Death Mistress), it remains an honor.

In case anyone is new to this game, the rules are outlined below. There are a few new rules so read carefully.

The Rules:

You pick 13 celebrities (plus 3 alternates) that you predict will die in the year 2018. If any of your celebrities dies, you score 100 points minus their age at death. Whoever has the most points at the end of the year...wins. It's rather simple.

Players may submit lists to both the "regular" and "themed" pools. However, those posting a Themed list should explain the theme.

All picks must be made by December 31st, 2017, at 11:59PM, CENTRAL TIME. Late entries (i.e., ANY time after midnight of Jan 1st) will be turned away.

Valid picks CANNOT be:

a. already dead
b. fictional
d. under age 18
e. a registered member of the SDMB
f. hostages held by terrorist organizations
g. famous solely as a result of their illness or the events surrounding their death (see #14 below)

If you have any questions about who is or is not a celebrity, feel free to post to the thread or PM me. This is why we include 3 alternates, so if a pick is designated to be invalid, your first alternate will be elevated to your list.

If we are uncertain about the celebrity's age at death, we will go by the higher age (lower score).

Prisoners held on death row count only if they die by means other than official execution.

If you kill anyone on your list to try to get ahead or cheat, then you're automatically disqualified.

Editing your choices: You can change the people on your list as many times as you wish before the deadline above, just make sure that your FINAL list is known, otherwise I'm going to take the first 13 of yours I see listed.

Alternates are important, in the case of a pick being invalid, or a pick dying prior to January 1st.

If a player changes their username at some point, post this news on the thread, or PM me, so I know who you are.

Tracking celebrity deaths is the job of each individual player. Wiki maintains a page of deaths each month, and is an excellent reference.

I create and share a Scorekeeper in the form of an Excel Spreadsheet. I am happy to share this with any and all participants. I generally post to a DropBox folder, and update it after every death. If you do not have DropBox, sign up (it is free).

We are instituting a new "secret posting" of picks this year, through this Google Form (all thanks to Mahaloth). Should you not want to publicly post your list prior to Jan 1, you can post through the Form, and your picks will be posted publicly by me (phungi) after Jan 1.

Determination of who is a celebrity will remain a subjective matter, but generally defined as "the person has some known presence in the form of a Wikipedia Page and/or notoriety in the news or such" and their fame or celebrity cannot be based solely on their having a terminal illness". Sole possession of a Wikipedia page will not constitute "celebrity". If questioned, the person who posted that individual may be required provide such evidence.

Questions may be raised about the appropriateness of a pick at any point after a list is posted, even after 1/1/18. Alternates picks play an important role, as "questionable" picks may be disqualified post-posting.

Themed lists will be submitted and tracked through a separate thread/pool, linked here.

There is no exchange of money, that would be in poor taste. Rather, each year, we share the following awards:

The "Opening Kickoff" Award: awarded to the poster or posters who pick the first listed celebrity to die in 2018.

The "Quantity Not Quality" Award: awarded to the poster or posters who pick the greatest number of celebrities who died, regardless of their actual point value.

The "Grim Reaper" Award: awarded to the poster or posters who had the most unique picks that died.

The "Robbing the Cradle" Award: awarded to the poster or posters who pick the youngest celebrity to die in 2018, but see rule 3d.

The "Final Hours" Award: awarded to the poster or posters who pick the last listed celebrity to die in 2018.

You need to submit a clean list, with no explanations, dates of birth, titles, etc. If you want to add commentary, include this below your clean list.

Scoring: When a celebrity dies, you get their age at death subtracted from 100. All celebrities who are 100 or over count, but you get "0" Points for their death, contributing to the "Quantity not Quality" award.

If a player on my list dies before Jan. 1, I will post a revised list. The new player would be one who played the same position as the player he replaces. For example, if Guerrero dies, his replacement will be Eddie Robinson; if Shoendienst dies, his replacement will be Bobby Richardson.

Since we now have this thread in addition to the regular one, I'll participate in both, but save some work by copying my 2017 "What a Bunch of Dicks" entry, with one change and the now-required three alternates.

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